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Monthly Archives: March 2015

ARE WE OVERLOOKING THE REAL ARSENIC RISK? Posted by Jim Barlow – Oregon on March 10, 2015“No one has touched on the link between arsenic on the surface and in groundwater,” says Qusheng Jin. Geologist Qusheng Jin had “a wild hypothesis” in 2008 that a bacterial process was at work in an arsenic-contaminated aquifer in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley.In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Jin’s team shows the process is in play and concludes the practice of just monitoring total arsenic levels for groundwater safety is not enough.They suggest organic arsenic forms, generally considered less toxic, should be looked at more closely in aquifers around the world.“No one has touched on the link between arsenic on the surface and in groundwater,” says Jin, a professor in the University of Oregon’s geological sciences department.

“Traditionally the presence of the organic form in groundwater has been ignored. The focus has always been on inorganic forms, arsenate and arsenite.”That approach, Jin says, over-simplifies the view on arsenic levels and overlooks how human activities, including pumping and irrigation, or environmental factors such as heavy rain or drought may influence organic forms.SAFE TO DRINK? Water is considered safe to drink when total arsenic levels are below 10 micrograms per liter. Levels above that are considered cancer risks.Arsenic is a natural element found in abundance in the Earth’s crust. Organic arsenic, Jin says, is made up of a series of carbon-containing forms.Total arsenic is commonly assumed to be a pure metalloid form. Arsenic often changes forms as it moves through the environment. It also is used in some pesticides, herbicides and wood preservatives and in chicken feed.The organic arsenic that caught the team’s attention is dimethylarsinate (DMA). This intermediate stage is a floating mishmash of dissolved organic forms along with inorganic arsenite and arsenate already floating freely in the water.DMA’s concentration—sometimes exceeding 10 percent of inorganic arsenic—always correlates with the overall arsenite level, Jin explains. Eventually, he adds, the conversion process can turn arsenic into arsine, a volatile gas similar to fluorescent phosphine that rises as the result of decomposition in graveyards.TESTING WELL WATERThe fieldwork, funded by the National Science Foundation and led by Jin, involved gathering water samples at depths ranging from 20 to 40 meters (66 to 131 feet) from 23 wells located on rural properties near Creswell, Oregon. In 10 of the wells tested, DMA was found with concentrations as high as 16.5 micrograms per liter.The aquifer consists of volcanic sandstone, tuff and silicic ash, overlaid by lava flows and river sediments. The basin floor dates to 33 million years ago. Organic arsenic in the aquifer, the researchers noted, is similar to that in aquifers in Florida and New Jersey in the United States and in Argentina, China (Inner Mongolia and Datong), Cypress, Taiwan, and West Bengal. Arsenic in groundwater is a challenge worldwide, including all 48 contiguous U.S. states.To test the hypothesis that arsenic cycling was occurring by way of native bacteria, doctoral student Scott C. Maguffin conducted a series of three laboratory experiments involving dissolved arsenite and arsenate taken from wells in the study area.The addition of ethanol in the final experiment stimulated bacterial activity, resulting in DMA concentrations much higher than those found in the field.“I am concerned about the impact of this cycling process in aquifers,” Jin says. “If this process is as important as we believe it is, it will impact the transport and fate of arsenic in groundwater. Many organic arsenic forms are volatile and prone to diffusion. Where will these organic arsenic forms go? Will they ever make it to the surface?”Source: University of Oregonhttp://www.futurity.org/arsenic-groundwater-871572/?utm_source=Futurity+Today&utm_campaign=8641b8af89-March_10_20153_10_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e34e8ee443-8641b8af89-206319993

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The water man of India wins 2015 Stockholm Water Prize

Stockholm, Sweden (20 March 2015) – Rajendra Singh of India is named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need.

Mr Singh, born 1959, lives and works in the arid Indian state of Rajasthan, where he for several decades dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities. The results of his tireless work are without equal: in close cooperation with local residents, he and his organization have revived several rivers, brought water, and life, back to a thousand villages and given hope to countless people.

On receiving news about the prize, Mr Singh said “this is very encouraging, energizing and inspiring news. Through the Indian wisdom of rainwater harvesting, we have made helpless, abandoned, destitute and impoverished villages prosperous and healthy again.

In its citation, The Stockholm Water Prize Committee says that “today’s water problems cannot be solved by science or technology alone. They are instead human problems of governance, policy, leadership, and social resilience. Rajendra Singh’s life work has been in building social capacity to solve local water problems through participatory action, empowerment of women, linking indigenous know-how with modern scientific and technical approaches and upending traditional patterns of development, resource use, and social norms.”

“In a world where demand for freshwater is booming, where we will face a severe water crisis within decades if we do not learn how to better take care of our water, Mr Singh is a beacon of hope,” says Torgny Holmgren, SIWI’s Executive Director. “He has literally brought villages back to life. We need to take Mr Singh’s lessons and actions to heart if we are to achieve sustainable water use in our lifetime.”

Rajendra Singh’s work reveals a true humanitarian and firm believer in empowerment. After studying Ayurvedic medicine and surgery, he
went into the countryside in the largely impoverished state of Rajasthan in the mid-1980’s with the aim to set up health clinics. Instead, he was told by villagers that the greatest need was not health care, but water. As wells dried up, crops wilted, and rivers and forests disappeared, many able-bodied villagers left in search for work in the cities. Women, children and the elderly were left behind, without hope, as their villages were being overrun by sand and dust.

Rajendra Singh did not insist with the clinics. Instead, and with the help of the villagers, he set out to build johads, or traditional earthen dams. Two decades after Rajendra Singh arrived in Rajasthan, 8,600 johads and other structures to collect water had been built. Water had been brought back to a 1,000 villages across the state. Mr Singh, his co-workers in Tarun Bharat Sangh (India Youth Association) had gotten water to flow again in several rivers of Rajasthan. The forest cover has increased, and antelope and leopard started returning.

The methods used by Mr Singh are modernization of traditional Indian ways of collecting and storing rainwater, dating back thousands of years. The methods fell out of use during British colonial rule, but have now brought water back to the driest state in one of the world’s most populous nations, thanks to the “Water man of India” and his colleagues.

“When we started our work, we were only looking at the drinking water crisis and how to solve that. Today our aim is higher. This is the 21st century. This is the century of exploitation, pollution and encroachment. To stop all this, to convert the war on water into peace, that is my life’s goal”, says Mr Singh.

Climate change is changing weather patterns around the world, leading to more frequent and intense droughts and floods. Learning how to harvest rainwater, cutting the peaks of water to fill the troughs, will be a key skill in most parts of the world. Some of the world’s finest scientists are currently focusing their attention on the management of rain and how to best develop the knowledge.

“We need to learn more about managing and harvesting rain in order to reduce our exposure to droughts as well as floods”, says SIWI’s Torgny Holmgren.

“Due to the harvesting of rain and recharging groundwater, there is no scope for drought or floods in our area. This work of ours is a way to solve both floods and droughts globally. Therefore we believe the impact of this work is on the local level, national level, the international level and above all at the village level,” says Rajendra Singh.

H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, will present the prize to Rajendra Singh at a Royal Award Ceremony during 2015 World Water Week in Stockholm on 26 August.

About Stockholm Water PrizeThe Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives USD 150,000 and a specially designed sculpture. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is patron of the prize.

Initially founded by the Stockholm Water Foundation to encourage research and development of the world’s water environment, the Stockholm Water Prize is additionally supported by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, International Water Association, Water Environment Federation and the City of Stockholm. The Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize are companies united in their strong conviction to drive sustainability in the water sector. They are: Bacardi, Borealis & Borouge, DuPont, Europeiska ERV, Fujitsu, HP, Kemira, KPMG Sweden, Ragn-Sells, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), SJ (Swedish Railways), Snecma/Safran, Xylem and Ålandsbanken.

Stockholm International Water Institute is a policy institute that generates knowledge and informs decision-makers towards water wise policy and sustainable development. SIWI performs research, builds institutional capacity and provides advisory services in five thematic areas: water governance, transboundary water management, water and climate change, the water-energy-food nexus, and water economics. SIWI organizes the World Water Week in Stockholm – the leading annual global meeting place on water and development issues – and hosts the Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and the Stockholm Industry Water Award.

Saving Otter 501 aired Wednesday, October 16, 2012 . A baby sea otter abandoned on the beach was brought in to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This is the aquarium’s 501st attempt tosave an orphan otter. Against all odds, will she be able to return to her home in the wild?

Meet Otter 501 | Saving Otter 501 | PBS, published on Oct 14, 2013 –This little sea creature is the star of the documentary film Otter 501, which tells the story of a sea otter who was rescued after she lost her mom as a young pup in Monterey Bay. As she is being dried off, she gets a bit sneezy! There must be something in the air. href=”//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddm5bbeqHVA&w=560&h=315]”>

Baby otter squeaks when introduced to water

Sea Otter Orphan Gets Adopted | Nature | PBS – published on Oct 11, 2013 – Can an orphan sea otter pup be accepted by a surrogate mother to learn how to survive and thrive back in the wild?
href=”//www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdy7DEhvsVU&w=560&h=315]”>

After about 3 months, Otter 501 begins to master otter lessons, but there are plenty of other challenges to face in the wild.

Toola Feeds 501 – Toola shows lil’ 501 how to use tools to open shells containing delicious food, a crucial skill for sea otter survival in the wild

Otter 501 Tries Solid Food – About this video: Are we wrong to think that she’s not impressed? After being bottle fed, Otter 501 was offered solid food in the form of shellfish. Monterey Bay Aquarium caretakers beat shells together to mimic the sound a mother otter makes when she breaks open prey.

Otter 501 Eats Crab on Her Own – After months of help from caretakers and her surrogate mother, Otter 501 has finally developed the skills to eat a live crab all on her own! This is a critical step – once she’s returned to the wild she’ll have to find and consume foods like this all on her own.

Otter 501’s Release Back to the Wild – published on Jun 22, 2012 – About this video: June 22, 2012: Otter 501, the star of our feature-length film of the same name, has been living back in the wild for a full year. Her release was the end of an amazing story, but the beginning of her second chance.

Unfortunately the full length video, “Saving Otter 501” is no longer available, however you can purchase the video at:

Film Description: A storm grows, a sea otter pup is separated from her mother, and a young woman bound for adventure blows in to town. On a windswept beach these lives collide and an entire species’ survival gets personal. Katie and our playful pup, otter number 501, learn to navigate the opportunities and risks of life without anchor while we see the incredible efforts people have undertaken to return sea otters from the brink of extinction. Framed against the strikingly beautiful Monterey Bay coastline we discover just how serious this threat remains. Their adventure, unexpected as it was, illustrates what we can do to protect the southern sea otter…and ourselves.

On the show yesterday, Hobson discussed desalination as a solution to the drought with David Jassby, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside and Sandy Kerl of the San Diego County Water Authority. There are currently 13 desalination projects under consideration along the California coast.

Jassby explains how desalination works, why in the U.S. we rely on reverse osmosis rather than thermal-based plants and the environmental impacts of the process. Desalination has been proposed for years in the U.S., but has always been shot down for being too expensive and requiring too much energy. Now, “the first desalination plant in Carlsbad is coming online in 2016 or maybe even sooner,” says Jassby.

The cost of desalinized water has come down significantly in recent years, making it “pretty comparable” to conventional water sources, according to Jassby. He expects that places that have “ready access to the ocean” and are water-stressed will employ desalination in the coming years. It’s already widely used in other parts of the world such as the Middle East, Australia and parts of Southern Europe.

When the Carlsbad Desalination Project is completed this fall, it will be the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere. Kerl of the San Diego County Water Authority, which is partnering with Poseidon Water on the project, explains why she believes the desalination plant is environmentally
sound and also necessary for the state of California. The state’s recent snowpack survey reveals that the snowpack, a major source of drinking water for residents, is currently five percent of average, according to Kerl.

Takhini Hot Springs (tɑːkiːniː) is a natural hot springs located just outside the border of Whitehorse, Yukon (28 km from city centre). It is a locally run business which incorporates two pools at different temperatures and has a campground with over 80 sites. It is a historic site and a very popular destination for tourists and locals.WaterThe hot springs flows from the earth to the surface at a rate of 385 litres (86 gallons) per minute. The temperature from the source is 46.5º Celsius (118º Fahrenheit). The pool is divided into two sections: the hot side and the cool side. As the water flows from the source to the hot pool the water cools to 42º Celsius (107.6º Fahrenheit), the cool side is an average of 36º Celsius (96.8º Fahrenheit). Takhini Hot Springs is fortunate to contain no sulphurous odour as is common to most hot springs.

Brave Participants of the International Hair Freezing contest bathe in air temperatures of -30C to achieve their crazy hairstyles, and this bunch were crowned the winners.

Competitors at the Takhini Hot Springs in Whitehorse, Yukon, northern Canada, bathe in hot springs in 40C temperature water and the sub zero temperatures in the air create this stunning effect.Based on geothermal research, the hot springs water comes from intersecting faults in the earth. Rain water and snow from the mountains go deep into the earth, where the water is heated and the minerals dissolve. The water then returns to the surface and out of the ground in a small crater (the source). The source is currently located near the pool facilities.According to tests, it has taken a minimum of 60 years for the water in the pools to come from the ground into the source. During its underground journey to the surface, the water reaches a maximum temperature of 95º Celsius (203º Fahrenheit) and then cools down as it rises to the surface and into the source.HistoryTakhini Hot Springs has a long history in the Yukon. Used by the First Nations People for centuries, the site was known for natural hot water flowing from the ground. In 1907 it was commercially promoted for its therapeutic value. The first pool was made of wood and canvas and was built in the 1940s for the use of the United States Army while they constructed the Alaska Highway. In 1950 a concrete pool was built and that was later replaced by the existing pool and building in the 1970s. In 2008, many renovations were undertaken to improve the pool’s facilities. Renovations are still made to this day.

Definitely not my cup of tea but sure is a lot of fun for all those hardy souls!Have a great weekend everyone.
See you back here next week.

The following article, “Tapping In – Are municipal bans on bottled water effective in driving sustainable behaviours around drinking water? by Ashlee Jollymore appeared in watercanada’s July/Aug. issue. Depending on where you are, it may be getting harder to buy a bottle of water. In response to concerns over the environmental, economic, and social impacts of bottled water, local governments in many parts of North America have enacted or considered restrictions on bottled water sales. Most notably, the City of San Francisco banned bottled water sales onmost city-owned properties, making it the largest local government in North America to do so. But are outright bans the best way to promote sustainable choices?The most common argument for restricting the sale of bottled water stems from its environmental footprint. The average Canadian drinks nearly 70 litres of bottled water a year, an increase of 107.3 per cent since 1999. Canadians dispose of at least a billion plastic water bottles per year. The best case scenario for disposal is recycling and, although rates in Canada are relatively high, recycling is energy intensive and can result in down-cycled materials. Bottles not recycled are diverted to landfills, and in the worst case, become litter in natural environments like oceans, lakes, and rivers. Opponents to bottled water restrictions highlight the recyclability of plastic bottles and say campaigns to increase recycling are effective at decreasing waste. Opponents also cite the protection of individual freedoms and note that it should be up to the consumer to decide.Shifting to tap While bottled water is far from the only type of packaged beverage available to consumers, its impacts are singled out because of concerns over selling water as a product for large corporate profit. Our societal indecision over how to think about water, alternating between water as a commodity and public resource critical for life, “spurs an emotional response that is not seen for other types ofpackaged beverages,” said Elizabeth Griswold, the executive director of the Canadian Bottled Water Association. In 2009, bottled water sales comprised only 10 per cent of the Canadian non-alcoholic beverage market (with carbonated soft drinks comprising 17 per cent). “Bottled water doesn’t compete with tap water—it competes with other bottled beverages,” Griswold said. “Consumers who are drinking bottled water are replacing it with soft drinks, juice, coffee, all of which come in packaging.” So, how can a ban ensure consumers drink tap water rather than buy a soda?The logistical challenge around implementing bottled water bans is convincing the public to drink tap water as well as ensuring convenient access through fountains, refilling stations, and taps. Consumer perception surveys show that convenience is the most cited reason people drink bottled water, followed by quality preferences (including concerns over health impacts as well as taste and aesthetic preferences). Other surveys have shown Canadians tend to trust their municipalities to provide water services and are, for the most part, satisfied with the quality of tap water. Local governments considering or enacting bans take both points seriously. For a ban to be successful, “Students have to be educated in order to reduce demand for bottled water while also improving infrastructure and access to tap water,” according to Veronika Bylicki of Tap That!, a University of British Columbia group advocating for water alternatives on campus.In 2009, the City of Toronto banned the sale of plastic bottles in its parks and facilities, including those with business tenants such as civic squares. It focused on a social media and marketing campaign highlighting its motivations and the high quality of municipal water. This helped reduce opposition from citizens, businesses, and vendors affected. “ Ending the sale of bottled water is necessary to change habits. We can educate for years, and there will still be people who otherwise won’t change to more sustainable habits.” —Veronika Bylicki “Once they understood what we were trying to do, which was of course environmental, and that our tap water is at least as good as bottled, then it was just business as usual,” said Douglas Reid, manager of facilities for the City of Toronto. “It’s all been pretty positive, really.” He also added there has a been a decrease in the city’s recycling load. Given that bottled water is extensively marketed to consumers, bans also send a strong message about its cultural acceptability. But altering behaviours and getting people to choose tap water even if they have other choices is a more difficult undertaking. “People probably do switch to other beverages,” Reid said, adding that “the ban is doing what it is supposed to. If people are drinking water, they are drinking tap water, so environmentally we are doing better. But are we getting people to drink more tap water? That we just don’t know.” A ban’s greatest strength may be the potency of the message it sends around drinking tap water as the best option. Since the City of Toronto enacted its ban in 2012, Reid said he sees a lot more reusable water bottles around. “It’s one of a number of tools, but it certainly hammers home the point in an effective way,” he said.Ashlee Jollymore is a biogeochemist and PhD candidate in the ecohydrology group at the University of British Columbia.